Alabama Solar Rebates and Incentives

Alabama offers a number of incentive and rebate programs to help home owners and businesses with clean energy alternatives.

Solar Rebate and Incentive Programs

Alabama Rebates and Incentives Summary

Alabama, affectionately called the Yellowhammer state after the state bird, has strikingly few incentives for renewable energy development. There are 21 states in the country with renewable energy portfolio standards, or requirements that they will get a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources by a certain time. Another five states have renewable energy goals. Alabama is not part of either group.

The state legislature has not made renewable energy development a priority, and discussions on the topic have been truncated at best. The state does have some hydroelectric power sources and two biomass electric plants fueled by lumber industry waste.

Alabama is rich in other power resources and enjoys the lowest property tax of any state in the country, making it a hard tax to cut for clean energy incentives. The state income tax, while one of the highest for the poorest families, is—on average—one of the lowest in the United States, which also makes it a poor candidate for incentives to those homeowners who would consider installing solar.

While the state itself has made no strides toward incentivising private and corporate installations of clean energy sources, a federal program operating regionally has stepped up to the plate.

Those Alabamans who live in the part of the state within the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Valley Association do have access to funding and rebates.
Alabama Solar Power Financial Incentives

Financial Incentives

Personal Deduction
- Wood-Burning Heating System Deduction
Production Incentive
- TVA - Green Power Switch Generation Partners Program
State Grant Program
- Biomass Energy Program
State Loan Program
- Local Government Energy Loan Program
Utility Loan Program
Utility Rebate Program
Rules, Regulations & Policies

Building Energy Code
- Alabama State Energy Code for Buildings
Energy Standards for Public Buildings
- Energy Standards for State Agencies
Related Programs & Initiatives

Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center

The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) provides a wide range of information and resources to enable the use of alternative fuels and other petroleum-reduction options, such as advanced vehicles, fuel blends, idle reduction and fuel economy. The AFDC site offers a database of state and federal laws and incentives related to alternative fuels and vehicles, air quality, fuel efficiency, and other transportation-related topics.

Green Power Network

The U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network provides news and information on green power markets and activities, including opportunities to buy green power. This site provides state-by-state information on green power marketing and utility green power programs. In addition, the site lists marketers of renewable energy credits (RECs), also known as green tags or renewable energy certificates, which represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects.

Weatherization Assistance Program

The U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient. Through this program, weatherization service providers install energy-efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge. The WAP program web site offers a state-by-state map of opportunities, projects and activities.

Wind Powering America

The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America site provides state-by-state information on wind projects and activities, including wind working groups, validated wind maps, anemometer loan programs, small wind guides, state-specific news, wind for schools, workshops and web casts.

Tennessee Valley Generation Partners Grant

Program Type	Performance-based Incentive
Technologies	Photovoltaics, Landfill Gas, Wind Energy, Biomass, Low-impact Hydroelectric
Amount	$1,000 plus $.12 for solar and $.03 cents for other technologies per kilowatt hour
Required Documentation	Completed application submitted to local utility within the TVA jurisdiction
Official Web Site	http://www.tva.com/greenpowerswitch/partners/

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a government-owned independent corporation that controls utilities in Tennessee and major parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, aims to increase green power production.

The TVA has created an incentive program for independent residents and companies that want to generate green power.

Residents living within the jurisdiction of the TVA qualify for a $1,000 payment when they hook new renewable energy sources up to the grid.

They will also receive $.12 above the market rate for power for every kilowatt hour (kWh) of solar power they contribute to the electricity grid and $.03 per kWh for other renewable energy sources like wind and low-impact hydro-electric power generation.

The independent generators can contribute as little as 500 watts and as much as 2,000 kW.

The payments will show up as credits against power usage on the statements from the local utility company and are guaranteed for 10 years.

Maintenance and upgrades to the independent power generation systems are the sole responsibility of the system owners.

Alabama Solar Rebates and Incentives

Solar Rebate and Incentive Programs

Alabama Rebates and Incentives Summary

Alabama Solar Power Financial Incentives

Tennessee Valley Generation Partners Grant